This build was inspired by what has become one of my favorite fantasy series of all time, The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. The protagonist of this series is an elite assassin, able to enhance the usual assassin skills of stealth, combat, poisons, and misdirection with powerful illusion magic. He is even rumored to be immune to magic used against him. With this character in mind, I developed the Night Angel class.
The Night Angel
The Night Angel is a lord of shadows. He claims the shadows that the Shadow may not. He is the strong arm of deliverance, the Shadowstrider. He is the Scales of Justice. He is Shadowslayer and Nameless. The guilty shall not go unpunished. His way is hard but he serves unbroken. In ignobility nobility. In shame honor. In darkness light. He will do justice and love mercy. Until the end of days he shall not lay his burden down.
-The Way of Shadows
Sometimes laws and justice fail. Sometimes, great evil must be done to achieve a greater good. This is where the Night Angel steps in. He is an assassin, yes, but one who believes there are rules far greater than any man's law, and it is that divine justice which he serves. He walks through the darkness so others may find the light.
Basic Character Stats
Race
Breton is the ideal race for this build. Bretons have minor bonuses to Alchemy, Alteration, and Illusion and the powerful Dragonskin ability. Dragonskin will help achieve complete immunity to spells, allowing the Night Angel to achieve near legendary status. Almost any other race can work, but 100% spell absorption will not be possible without stepping far outside the build.
Stats
Some of the more powerful spells will require a hefty pool of magicka to cast. I recommend a 2/2/1 spread. Once you reach a comfortable level of magicka, you can switch this to 1/3/1. Customize as you like, but just keep in mind that, even with perks, Mayhem will cost 293 Magicka to cast.
Stone
The Atronach stone is required. This stone goes a long way to helping you achieve immunity to magic.
Skills
Perk Selection
Sneak
Stealth is key. The goal of this build is to dispatch a target in whatever way is most convenient, and disappear without being caught. While mass slaughter is quite possible, a precision strike is much more preferable. I’ve found that full progression in the stealth perk is not necessary when you combine illusion magic, but you can put more points here if you are having difficulty. Shadow Warrior is a must-have. You can also save a few perks by stopping at Backstab if you prefer to use 1 handed swords over daggers. Personally I feel that daggers fit better.
Pickpocket
Sometimes you need to remove someone who knows their days are numbered. They may try to protect themselves by staying in public spaces, or hiring body guards. The appropriate poison and the Poisoned perk can ensure this person comes down with a sudden and fatal illness… without attracting unwanted attention.
Alchemy
Never underestimate a well-placed poison. The Poisoner perk is very important. If you reach very high levels, it may be worth filling out the rest of the tree as well.
One-Handed
Although this is the primary source of your physical damage, I found that 5/5 Armsman is more than enough to ensure your strikes are deadly.
Light Armor
Your goal is not just to avoid damage, but to avoid detection at all. That said, sometimes even the Night Angel will need to go toe to toe. Light armor perks both help avoid detection (Unhindered) and avoid dying when you are detected. I would put a few points in early, but save maxing the tree until later.
Illusion
This is the cornerstone of this build. The Night Angel makes others see what he wants them to see. Illusion gives you the ability to turn someone’s body guards against them, to punch someone in the face and have them thank you for it, or to vanish from sight completely. Every perk here is important.
Alteration
This skill is important for several reasons:
--Paralyze and Mass Paralysis are both highly useful spells
--This build's chosen armors are not affected by smithing perks, so the flesh line of spells are a useful boost to defense
--The Atronach perk brings your passive magic absorb to 80%
--Alteration is full of useful utility spells like candlelight/magelight, waterbreathing, telekinesis, and detect life.
While this tree is not top priority, I would still spend points here rather steadily as you level.
Smithing
Nightingale Armor, Shrouded Armor, Mehrune's Razor, and the Blade of Woe can all reach their full potential with just two perks in smithing. This tree can be perked slowly, but will become increasingly useful at higher levels on master or legendary.
Archery
Although no perks were spent in this tree, I would still use the skill frequently. With Shadow Warrior and the right poisons, a ranged assassination is quite possible without Archery perks.
Equipment
You have two real options for armor: the Shrouded Armor and the Nightingale Armor.
Shrouded Armor
This armor is the obvious choice for any assassin type. Wearing the full set, you’ll have a constant muffle effect, double damage with backstabs, 20% increased bow damage, and 50% resist poison from the individual pieces, and a 25 point boost to armor from the set bonus. This set is attainable very quickly, and can get you off to a great start. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it is one of the ugliest sets in the game and I tend to avoid it. The gloves are almost compulsory until you get Assassin’s Blade perk however.
Nightingale Armor
Although much more difficult, or at least more time consuming, to obtain, this is my armor of choice. With this full set you gain 40 stamina, 50% frost resist, constant muffle, fortify lockpick 25pt, fortify one-hand 25pt, and 17% cost reduction for illusion spells. You also gain the most unique and incredible looking armor in the game.
When making your decision, keep in mind that fortify one-hand enchants do not affect daggers at the moment, but fortify marksman enchants do. This gives the Shrouded Armor a statistical edge if you prefer dagger sneak attacks, but personally I just cannot give up the Nightingale Armor appearance.
Blade of Woe
The Blade of Woe is the highest damage dagger available (tied with the dragonbone dagger). Add in the health absorb enchantment and its relative ease to obtain, and this will probably be your go-to weapon for much of the game.
Mehrune’s Razor
This dagger takes a bit longer to obtain, and isn’t quite as good statistically, but it does deserve mention. It is only one point less damage than the Blade of Woe, and it has an interesting enchantment that gives it a chance to instantly kill any opponent. Unfortunately this is only about a 2% chance. Overall, not as good as the Blade of Woe, but it is more than adequate compared to others in the game, and can make an excellent offhand weapon if you choose to dual wield.
Nightingale Bow
One of the best bows available, the Nightingale Bow causes frost and shock damage, as well as slowing your target. It also matches the Nightingale Armor quite well (obviously).
Nightingale Blade
If you decide to forgo Assassin’s Blade then the Nightingale Blade One-handed Sword is a good alternative. Decent damage and a powerful absorb health and stamina enchant make it a more than serviceable weapon.
Jewelry
Choice of Jewelry is pretty wide open, but I have a few suggestions
Locket of Saint Jiub
Fortify Stamina 50pts, Fortify Carry Weight 50pts
The Gauldur Amulet
Fortify Health, Stamina, and Magicka 30pts
Saarthal Amulet
Spells cost 3% less to cast
Ring of the Erudite
Fortify Magicka 100pts, Magicka Regen 2pts
Nightweaver’s Band
Fortify Sneak 10pts, Fortify Destruction 10pts
Muiri’s Ring
Fortify Alchemy 15pts
Key Abilities and Combos
Shadowstep
Requires: Quiet Casting, Shadow Warrior, Whirlwind Sprint, (Invisibility optional)
You vanish from sight and appear at another location.
This ability works in or out of combat. Simply activate sneak, causing your opponent to search for you again, and then use the whirlwind sprint shout. With quiet casting the shout makes no noise, and you can get to a safe distance or behind cover before your opponent notices you. If you pre-cast invisibility before entering sneak mode, this ability is more flexible, giving you more time to execute and reposition.
Smoke Bomb
Requires: Quiet Casting, Shadow Warrior, Invisibility, other (see below)
The experienced assassin knows that, no matter how careful you are, it is always possible to find yourself outnumbered and overwhelmed. This is why he carries an arsenal of smoke bombs to fit any situation.
Precast Invisibility, sneak, release invisibility, and cast one of the spells below. Become Ethereal shout may also be used if you are in a situation that will break invisibility.
Confusion Bomb – Mayhem (or Nightingale Subterfuge)
Your smoke bomb confuses and obscures the vision of your enemies, causing them to lose track of you and attack their allies.
Tear Gas – Hysteria
Your bomb releases tear gas, causing enemies to flee the area.
Flash-bang – Mass Paralysis
A bright flash and a loud noise stuns all enemies within 40ft for 15 seconds.
Amnesia – Harmony
The vapor released from this bomb causes enemies to temporarily forget what they were doing, ceasing all hostile action.
Other Useful Tactics
Reverse pickpocketing: Placing poisons in a target’s inventory can severely weaken or even kill them outright. This will not incur a bounty, even if done in plain sight of guards (as long as the pickpocket was undetected).
Shadow Warrior Sniping: Against distant targets, firing a shot from your bow, then re-engaging stealth will allow you to get off several sneak attacks before they close the distance. Invisibility can enhance this tactic.
Death by Guard: With Quiet Casting and Sneak, it is possible to frenzy your target into attacking guards or other guard-protected civilians. This way, the guards handle your work for you.
Final Thoughts
On a roleplaying note, at first glance it may seem difficult to reconcile many of the Dark Brotherhood quests with the creed of justice for the Night Angel. It is important to remember that this creed also demands that the highest good be served, and the ends justify the means. You should avoid killing the pure or innocent, but there are none that I encountered in Skyrim who could fit that description. I don't want to offer spoilers, but they all have skeletons in their closets if you look hard enough.
As for gampelay, overall, this build requires a lot of high end talents to really shine. That said, it is fully viable through all levels of play, especially if focused on alchemy and sneak early. This is by far my favorite way to play an assassin style character. I hope you all enjoy this build. Since it is the first one I’ve posted, I would welcome any feedback.
Special thanks to Mason, Vazgen, John Kelly, and Ben C for feedback and advice.
This build was inspired by what has become one of my favorite fantasy series of all time, The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. The protagonist of this series is an elite assassin, able to enhance the usual assassin skills of stealth, combat, poisons, and misdirection with powerful illusion magic. He is even rumored to be immune to magic used against him. With this character in mind, I developed the Night Angel class.
The Night Angel
The Night Angel is a lord of shadows. He claims the shadows that the Shadow may not. He is the strong arm of deliverance, the Shadowstrider. He is the Scales of Justice. He is Shadowslayer and Nameless. The guilty shall not go unpunished. His way is hard but he serves unbroken. In ignobility nobility. In shame honor. In darkness light. He will do justice and love mercy. Until the end of days he shall not lay his burden down.
-The Way of Shadows
Sometimes laws and justice fail. Sometimes, great evil must be done to achieve a greater good. This is where the Night Angel steps in. He is an assassin, yes, but one who believes there are rules far greater than any man's law, and it is that divine justice which he serves. He walks through the darkness so others may find the light.
Basic Character Stats
Race
Breton is the ideal race for this build. Bretons have minor bonuses to Alchemy, Alteration, and Illusion and the powerful Dragonskin ability. Dragonskin will help achieve complete immunity to spells, allowing the Night Angel to achieve near legendary status. Almost any other race can work, but 100% spell absorption will not be possible without stepping far outside the build.
Stats
Some of the more powerful spells will require a hefty pool of magicka to cast. I recommend a 2/2/1 spread. Once you reach a comfortable level of magicka, you can switch this to 1/3/1. Customize as you like, but just keep in mind that, even with perks, Mayhem will cost 293 Magicka to cast.
Stone
The Atronach stone is required. This stone goes a long way to helping you achieve immunity to magic.
Skills
Perk Selection
Sneak
Stealth is key. The goal of this build is to dispatch a target in whatever way is most convenient, and disappear without being caught. While mass slaughter is quite possible, a precision strike is much more preferable. I’ve found that full progression in the stealth perk is not necessary when you combine illusion magic, but you can put more points here if you are having difficulty. Shadow Warrior is a must-have. You can also save a few perks by stopping at Backstab if you prefer to use 1 handed swords over daggers. Personally I feel that daggers fit better.
Pickpocket
Sometimes you need to remove someone who knows their days are numbered. They may try to protect themselves by staying in public spaces, or hiring body guards. The appropriate poison and the Poisoned perk can ensure this person comes down with a sudden and fatal illness… without attracting unwanted attention.
Alchemy
Never underestimate a well-placed poison. The Poisoner perk is very important. If you reach very high levels, it may be worth filling out the rest of the tree as well.
One-Handed
Although this is the primary source of your physical damage, I found that 5/5 Armsman is more than enough to ensure your strikes are deadly.
Light Armor
Your goal is not just to avoid damage, but to avoid detection at all. That said, sometimes even the Night Angel will need to go toe to toe. Light armor perks both help avoid detection (Unhindered) and avoid dying when you are detected. I would put a few points in early, but save maxing the tree until later.
Illusion
This is the cornerstone of this build. The Night Angel makes others see what he wants them to see. Illusion gives you the ability to turn someone’s body guards against them, to punch someone in the face and have them thank you for it, or to vanish from sight completely. Every perk here is important.
Alteration
This skill is important for several reasons:
--Paralyze and Mass Paralysis are both highly useful spells
--This build's chosen armors are not affected by smithing perks, so the flesh line of spells are a useful boost to defense
--The Atronach perk brings your passive magic absorb to 80%
--Alteration is full of useful utility spells like candlelight/magelight, waterbreathing, telekinesis, and detect life.
While this tree is not top priority, I would still spend points here rather steadily as you level.
Smithing
Nightingale Armor, Shrouded Armor, Mehrune's Razor, and the Blade of Woe can all reach their full potential with just two perks in smithing. This tree can be perked slowly, but will become increasingly useful at higher levels on master or legendary.
Archery
Although no perks were spent in this tree, I would still use the skill frequently. With Shadow Warrior and the right poisons, a ranged assassination is quite possible without Archery perks.
Equipment
You have two real options for armor: the Shrouded Armor and the Nightingale Armor.
Shrouded Armor
This armor is the obvious choice for any assassin type. Wearing the full set, you’ll have a constant muffle effect, double damage with backstabs, 20% increased bow damage, and 50% resist poison from the individual pieces, and a 25 point boost to armor from the set bonus. This set is attainable very quickly, and can get you off to a great start. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it is one of the ugliest sets in the game and I tend to avoid it. The gloves are almost compulsory until you get Assassin’s Blade perk however.
Nightingale Armor
Although much more difficult, or at least more time consuming, to obtain, this is my armor of choice. With this full set you gain 40 stamina, 50% frost resist, constant muffle, fortify lockpick 25pt, fortify one-hand 25pt, and 17% cost reduction for illusion spells. You also gain the most unique and incredible looking armor in the game.
When making your decision, keep in mind that fortify one-hand enchants do not affect daggers at the moment, but fortify marksman enchants do. This gives the Shrouded Armor a statistical edge if you prefer dagger sneak attacks, but personally I just cannot give up the Nightingale Armor appearance.
Blade of Woe
The Blade of Woe is the highest damage dagger available (tied with the dragonbone dagger). Add in the health absorb enchantment and its relative ease to obtain, and this will probably be your go-to weapon for much of the game.
Mehrune’s Razor
This dagger takes a bit longer to obtain, and isn’t quite as good statistically, but it does deserve mention. It is only one point less damage than the Blade of Woe, and it has an interesting enchantment that gives it a chance to instantly kill any opponent. Unfortunately this is only about a 2% chance. Overall, not as good as the Blade of Woe, but it is more than adequate compared to others in the game, and can make an excellent offhand weapon if you choose to dual wield.
Nightingale Bow
One of the best bows available, the Nightingale Bow causes frost and shock damage, as well as slowing your target. It also matches the Nightingale Armor quite well (obviously).
Nightingale Blade
If you decide to forgo Assassin’s Blade then the Nightingale Blade One-handed Sword is a good alternative. Decent damage and a powerful absorb health and stamina enchant make it a more than serviceable weapon.
Jewelry
Choice of Jewelry is pretty wide open, but I have a few suggestions
Locket of Saint Jiub
Fortify Stamina 50pts, Fortify Carry Weight 50pts
The Gauldur Amulet
Fortify Health, Stamina, and Magicka 30pts
Saarthal Amulet
Spells cost 3% less to cast
Ring of the Erudite
Fortify Magicka 100pts, Magicka Regen 2pts
Nightweaver’s Band
Fortify Sneak 10pts, Fortify Destruction 10pts
Muiri’s Ring
Fortify Alchemy 15pts
Key Abilities and Combos
Shadowstep
Requires: Quiet Casting, Shadow Warrior, Whirlwind Sprint, (Invisibility optional)
You vanish from sight and appear at another location.
This ability works in or out of combat. Simply activate sneak, causing your opponent to search for you again, and then use the whirlwind sprint shout. With quiet casting the shout makes no noise, and you can get to a safe distance or behind cover before your opponent notices you. If you pre-cast invisibility before entering sneak mode, this ability is more flexible, giving you more time to execute and reposition.
Smoke Bomb
Requires: Quiet Casting, Shadow Warrior, Invisibility, other (see below)
The experienced assassin knows that, no matter how careful you are, it is always possible to find yourself outnumbered and overwhelmed. This is why he carries an arsenal of smoke bombs to fit any situation.
Precast Invisibility, sneak, release invisibility, and cast one of the spells below. Become Ethereal shout may also be used if you are in a situation that will break invisibility.
Confusion Bomb – Mayhem (or Nightingale Subterfuge)
Your smoke bomb confuses and obscures the vision of your enemies, causing them to lose track of you and attack their allies.
Tear Gas – Hysteria
Your bomb releases tear gas, causing enemies to flee the area.
Flash-bang – Mass Paralysis
A bright flash and a loud noise stuns all enemies within 40ft for 15 seconds.
Amnesia – Harmony
The vapor released from this bomb causes enemies to temporarily forget what they were doing, ceasing all hostile action.
Other Useful Tactics
Reverse pickpocketing: Placing poisons in a target’s inventory can severely weaken or even kill them outright. This will not incur a bounty, even if done in plain sight of guards (as long as the pickpocket was undetected).
Shadow Warrior Sniping: Against distant targets, firing a shot from your bow, then re-engaging stealth will allow you to get off several sneak attacks before they close the distance. Invisibility can enhance this tactic.
Death by Guard: With Quiet Casting and Sneak, it is possible to frenzy your target into attacking guards or other guard-protected civilians. This way, the guards handle your work for you.
Final Thoughts
On a roleplaying note, at first glance it may seem difficult to reconcile many of the Dark Brotherhood quests with the creed of justice for the Night Angel. It is important to remember that this creed also demands that the highest good be served, and the ends justify the means. You should avoid killing the pure or innocent, but there are none that I encountered in Skyrim who could fit that description. I don't want to offer spoilers, but they all have skeletons in their closets if you look hard enough.
As for gampelay, overall, this build requires a lot of high end talents to really shine. That said, it is fully viable through all levels of play, especially if focused on alchemy and sneak early. This is by far my favorite way to play an assassin style character. I hope you all enjoy this build. Since it is the first one I’ve posted, I would welcome any feedback.
Special thanks to Mason, Vazgen, John Kelly, and Ben C for feedback and advice.
